


My heart can't take this damage

by FarFromTheShallows



Series: Derry Girls Childhood One Shots [1]
Category: Derry Girls (TV)
Genre: Childhood, Cousins, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-05 13:36:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18829729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FarFromTheShallows/pseuds/FarFromTheShallows
Summary: Moments reflecting the Derry Girls childhoods.In this moment, Orla loses her dad.





	My heart can't take this damage

**Author's Note:**

> So I've come up with an idea of one shots focusing on the Derry Girl's childhoods. This one focus on Orla's dad's death. I have a few ideas on certain 'aspects' of their childhood so if you have any idea's let me know!

When eight-year-old Erin awoke, the house was full of noise. The house was usually busy, with granda Joe living there since her grandma died two years ago. As she looked at her clock, learning to tell the time was her latest task. She could make out that is was 8:30, knowing that she was supposed to be on the way to school by now. She wondered if, maybe, it was the holiday’s? Glancing around her room, she spied her uniform hanging up on the back of the door.   
Grabbing her dressing gown, she wanders downstairs, hanging out at the bottom of the stairs. The door to the kitchen was closed, a strange occurrence in the Quinn house. She momentarily pauses, before opening the kitchen door.   
‘Morning mammy.’ At first, her voice goes unheard. The front room is nothing short of chaos. As Erin takes in the situation around her. It’s no different from most mornings, except there is lots of loud talking, and Orla isn’t there.   
‘Mary.’ Her da hisses, ‘Mornin’ Erin.’ If Erin was older, she would have noticed that her da being home at this time in the morning was highly unusual.   
‘Aye, morning love.’ Mary comes closer to the young girl, pulling her in tight. ‘I love you.’ Erin pulls a face, as Mary kisses the top of her head.   
‘Ack mammy, I’m late for school.’ She tells them, a hint of pride in her voice owing to the fact she can now tell the time. She likes to believe, that for an eight-year-old, she is highly sophisticated, so the look between the adults didn’t go unnoticed.   
‘Aye love.’ Gerry starts, motioning for her to come and sit next to him on the sofa. ‘You and Orla won’t be going to school today.’ He tells her, looking her direct in the eye. She misses the fact that Sarah and Mary leave the door, so it is just Gerry, Joe and Erin. For once, Joe isn’t making a snide comment at his son-in-law, he would never admit it, but he admires how well he’s handled the situation.   
‘Where is Orla?’   
‘Orla is in bed.’ He exhales, catching Joe’s eye. ‘Last night uncle Tom was taken ill.’ He doesn’t know how to explain this to his daughter, it had been quick, the ambulance came, Gerry went to collect a sleepy Orla, putting her in the spare bedroom. Half an hour later, he got a phone call from a panicked Mary, telling him that Orla needed to get to the hospital.   
Joe had driven Orla and himself to the hospital, the pair of them deciding that it wasn’t appropriate for Erin to be there.   
‘Is uncle Tom okay?’ Erin quite liked her uncle Tom, when she saw him.  
‘No love.’ Gerry tells her. ‘Uncle Tom died, you know what that means, don’t you?’ She nods.   
‘Like grandma?’ Gerry nods again, turning to look at Joe. Mary reappears in the room, coming to sit with her daughter, pulling her in close.   
‘Now, you’ve got to be really, really nice to Orla.’ Mary tells her, ‘Not that you aren’t, but you need to be really nice.’ Erin nods, as she feels her mothers’ hands cascade down her head. ‘And auntie Sarah. Now, why don’t you, jump in the bath.’   
Orla comes downstairs at lunchtime, she had woken up disorientated, finally realising that she was in her aunt Mary’s spare room.   
‘Ack, hello love.’ Mary smiles, as Orla cautiously opens the door. ‘Do you want anything for lunch?’ Orla scans the room, everyone bar her parents are in the room. She shudders a little as she remembers last night, the ambulance coming to the house, she saw a brief blue light, before she had been taken next door. Then being woken up and taken to the hospital, sitting on the side of her da’s bed, with her mammy.   
‘Pick ‘n’ mix?’ She asks, looking at the adults, who shake their head. ‘We could get some and go to the park?’   
‘I’ll take them.’ Joe volunteers standing up, ‘Orla, go and get changed love. You’ve got clothes in your bedroom.’ The young girl nods, bounding upstairs. Mary wonders how she is able to be that happy when her whole life is about to change. Maybe it’s because she’s only eight and she doesn’t quite understand the gravity of the situation? ‘Erin you too.’ She nods, following her cousins’ footsteps to go and change out of her pyjama’s.   
Grabbing the girl’s hands, Joe leads them down the road. ‘It.’ Orla tags Erin, sprinting off down the road. Erin follows her, catching up to her cousin, tagging her back.   
They reach the shop before their granda, Orla going in to decide what sweet’s she’s going to get, eventually deciding on a pick ‘n’ mix and a wham bar, Erin going for a wham bar and a dib dab. Once Joe had brought it, they race to the playground. It’s deserted, probably due to the fact that school is still in session.  
‘I bet I can go higher than you on the swing.’ Erin brags.   
‘No, ‘ou ‘ant.’ She shouts, shoving another sweet in her mouth.  
‘Mammy and daddy said you would be sad.’ Erin starts, as they start swinging, looking at her cousin. ‘Are you?’ Orla shrugs determined to go higher than her cousin.   
‘Aye, I am.’ She confirms. ‘But I’m trying to forget about it.’  
‘You can always come and talk to me.’ Erin tells her, jumping off the swing, followed suit by her cousin, a fraction in front of her.   
‘Aye, I won.’ She grins, looking over at her granda. ‘Lets go on the roundabout. Granda will push us.’ She excitedly pushes Erin out the way, making a bee line for the piece of equipment. They play for another hour, setting up mini competitions, as Joe watches on, smiling to himself at his two grandchildren’s interactions.   
The house is silent when they get back, Erin excitedly promising Orla that she was going to show her something in her room. ‘Orla.’ She starts, as she closes the door. ‘I love you-’ Orla smiles, pulling her cousin close.   
‘Aye, I love you too.’  
‘If you can’t sleep, you can have a sleepover with me.’ She promises, Orla smiling. Erin spending the next month sharing a bed with her cousin, who climbed in the same time every night, not wanting to be on her own.

**Author's Note:**

> Thought's?


End file.
